daryl_mitchell (flickr)
daryl_mitchell (flickr)

by Travis Poland

“Every day as I walk by that place, I am reminded of the man who dreamed up the school where I was sent purposely to sever the connection to my family, to my people,” said NDP MP Romeo Saganash during the Feb. 16 question period.

“That place” is the Langevin Block. It houses the privy council and the Prime Minister’s Office. It is named after Hector-Louis Langevin, who is considered a Father of Confederation and an architect of the residential school system.

During the aforementioned question period, Saganash asked if the government was committed to changing the building’s name as a means of furthering reconciliation by abolishing ties to a more antagonistic relationship with Indigenous peoples. MPs Hunter Tootoo, Robert-Falcon Ouellette and Don Rusank are also calling on the government to consider renaming the Langevin Block.

Calls are already getting louder as more Indigenous leaders support changing the name of the Langevin Block. In fact, there is precedent for this that inspires optimism.

Linda Many Guns is looking forward to helping her mother, a residential school survivor, cross Calgary’s Reconciliation Bridge on her ninetieth birthday in an attempt to bring reconciliation to her family.

Until recently, the Reconciliation Bridge was called the Langevin Bridge.  

Many Guns is a professor in Native American studies at the University of Lethbridge and one of the community leaders who campaigned to change the bridge’s name.

Now, Many Guns is hoping the federal government follows Calgary’s lead and changes the name of Ottawa’s Langevin Block.

Perry Bellegarde, Assembly of First Nation National Chief also supports a name change.  

Scratch the surface of Langevin’s history and it isn’t difficult to see why.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission itself cited an 1883 budget speech made by Langevin, then-Public Works minister. He argued:

“If you leave them in the family they may know how to read and write but they still remain savages, whereas by separating them in the way proposed, they acquire the habits and tastes — it is to be hoped only the good tastes — of civilized people.”

Many Guns says it is important to recognize the negative actions of historical figures.

“The changes that he made turned schools into genocidal incubators,” she said.

The federal government has repeated they are committed to reconciliation but the name of the Langevin Block does not look like reconciliation to Many Guns.

“This reaffirms they’d rather stick to their history than reconcile,” Many Guns said. “I think a name change to remove that name from the Langevin building is a small action but to us, it is humongous because it means taking our reconciliation as an important part of Canadian history seriously.”

The government has not yet come out in support of renaming the Langevin Block.

When asked about this change, the office of Judy Foote, Minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada, told the Leveller that “Public Services and Procurement Canada has not received nor is it aware of any requests to change the name of the Langevin Block.”

That being said, Ms. Foote’s office was sure to mention that, “There is no relationship more important to our government than the one with Indigenous peoples. Our government is fully committed to implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. This includes developing a reconciliation framework for Canadian heritage and commemoration. Any decision will be made in full partnership with Indigenous Peoples.”

While it would be a step towards reconciliation, Many Guns said changing the name of Langevin Block would also be beneficial to all Canadians. “It’s not just for the Aboriginal people, it’s for non-Aboriginal people. We need leadership at the national level in order to give the impression that reconciliation is important,” she said.

“We need to come together and build growth from the same starting point rather than being divided.”

This article first appeared in Vol. 9, No. 5 (February/March 2017).